Newbery 2015

The Crossover
Author: Kwame Alexander
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction/Poetry
Plot: Josh and Jordan are twin brothers who play basketball in middle school. Things change when their dad gets sick and Jordan discovers girls
My verdict: Made me cry
My rating: 4 stars


El Deafo
Author: Cece Bell
Genre: Biography/Graphic Novel
Plot: Cece loses her hearing at age 4.  She struggles to understand in a world of speech and to fit in at school.
My verdict: Loved it!
My rating: 5 stars


Brown Girl Dreaming
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Biography/Poetry
Plot: Woodson talks about her childhood.
My verdict: My favorite Woodson book
My rating: 4 stars

Once I finished reading all three books, I realized that none of them are "normal" novels.  We have two poetic novels and a graphic novel.  I am glad to see that the American Library Association is tipping its hat to "non traditional" novels when they have great content.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed all three books (even though I didn't think I would).

I find that poetic novels are quick and readable and often invoke an emotional response that you wouldn't normally get in a regular prose novel.  It is also great for biographies because you can get short snippets of a person's life easier in poetry. The Crossover is all about basketball.  I don't like basketball so I thought I would hate it.  However, the poetry drew me in and I ended up crying at the end.  Brown Girl Dreaming was being pegged as the winner for this year and I can see why.  This is an excellent autobiography of Woodson and it never has a dull moment. 

The book that I really wanted to read from this year was El Deafo.  The cover looked so intriguing.  To my knowledge, it is the first graphic novel ever to receive a Newbery honor.  There are several books on the Newbery list that address disabilities (A Corner of the Universe, Rules) but this author addresses her disability with a sassiness that makes the book so upbeat.  I loved how she used rabbits with their long ears as the characters.   Even if you don't like graphic novels, you need to give this one a try.

Series: The Dark is Rising

Series: The Dark is Rising Sequence
Author Susan Cooper
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Three children and the youngest of the Old Ones, Will (who is 12) together with Merriman fight for the cause of Light in the face of a rising Darkness.  Each book is a different quest to find another piece of the whole.
Books:

1. Over Sea, Under Stone
2. The Dark is Rising
3. Greenwitch
4. The Grey King
5. Silver on the Tree 

My overall rating: 3 stars

Even though I read a lot of fantasy, I only discovered this series recently when finding Newbery books on Scribd.  I would classify this as high low fantasy as it is set in the real world but has epic quest features of high fantasy.

The book delves into British folklore, borrowing heavily from Arthurian legend along with Welsh elements and the greenwitch.  It bogged down at times so I wouldn't count it among my favorite fantasy. 

Newbery 2008

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Genre: Historical Fiction/Theater
Plot: This book is a series of monologues for different people in a medieval village.
Verdict: Fun!
My rating: 4 stars


Elijah of Buxton
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Elijah goes on a journey into America after a thief
Verdict: The character's voice annoyed me
My rating: 1 star


The Wednesday Wars
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Holling Hoodhood is the only student at school on Wednesday afternoons and his teacher has to figure out what to do with him.
Verdict: Surprisingly entertaining
My rating: 4 stars


Feathers
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Realistic fiction
Plot: "Hope is the thing with feathers" for Frannie who deals with a new kid in class, her mother and her friend Samantha.
Verdict: Interesting
My rating: 3 stars

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! is a bit of an unusual choice for the medal as it's basically a collection of monologues.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book as I found the characters that were speaking to be interesting and all the monologues tied together in the end, giving the book a good measure of coherence.   The author, Laura Amy Schlitz, won another honor in 2013 for one of the creepiest books on the Newbery list, Splendors and Glooms.

I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed The Wednesday Wars, a book about a boy who is the only student in class on Wednesday afternoons (because the Catholics are at Catechism and the Jews are at Synagogue) and the book is about his relationship with his teacher and how she opens his mind to new horizons.

Feathers was okay.  I didn't like it as much as Tupac and we'll see how it stands up to Brown Girl Dreaming.  I did not enjoy Elijah of Buxton at all as I did not like the voice the author used.

2015 Winners Announced

Today, the Newbery winners were announced.  I have not read any of the three but I hope to soon.

The Medal winner was The Crossover by Kwame Alexander and it is a novel in poetic form (I have read several and they can be very interesting)

There were only two honor books.

El Deafo by Cece Bell
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

I had heard predictions that Jacqueline Woodson would finally win the medal this year but instead she comes home with her fourth honor.  I have heard very interesting things about El Deafo and I am looking forward to reading it.

Newbery 2014

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Ulysses the squirrel becomes a superhero after being vacuumed up and teams up with Flora.
Verdict: Insanely cute with great illustrations
My rating: 4 stars


Doll Bones
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Three friends travel to bury a doll they believe is made from the bones of a dead girl.
Verdict: Creepy but not too creepy
My rating: 3 stars 


The Year of Billy Miller
Author: Kevin Henkes
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: We follow Billy Miller through his second grade year.
Verdict: Ok
My rating: 3 stars 


One Came Home
Author: Amy Timberlake
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Georgie goes on a quest to prove that the body that was found was not her sister's
Verdict: Quite the mystery
My rating: 3 stars 


Paperboy
Author: Vince Vawter
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: A boy who stutters takes over his friend's paper route for the summer.
Verdict: Excellent story
My rating: 4 stars

I was very excited to see Kate DiCamillo win her second Newbery award this year.  I had actually picked up Flora and Ulysses at a local bookstore simply because it was DiCamillo's book without knowing it had won.  I absolutely loved the book and I loved how the graphic novel elements of it enhanced the book.  I doubt this is the last we will see of DiCamillo's brilliant mind on the Newbery list.

A book I was not looking forward to reading was Holly Black's Doll Bones.  It was the last book I read to complete the year.  I had tried to start it earlier but I'm not one for creepy books, especially after 2013's Splendors and Glooms.  I was pleasantly surprised at the book.  It was not horribly creepy and actually readable and while some people may not like the ending, it was something I could live with.

Of the remaining three books, I really enjoyed Paperboy.  I do not always go for books written in first person but the author's voice was excellent.  The ending and the author's note cemented my enjoyment of this book.  One Came Home  was a good mystery that will keep you guessing.  I was a bit disappointed by The Year of Billy Miller as I thought it was a little lackluster. 

Grow Your Blog 2015

Welcome to my blog, especially to my visitors from Grow Your Blog!

A Bit of Background

My first love has always been reading.  I learned to read at a very young age (between age 3 and 4) and ever since I have devoured books.  My love for reading was rekindled in college when I took a children's literature course as part of my undergraduate degree.  The book we used for the class had a list in the back of all the Newbery Medal and Honor books and I thought at the time that it would be cool to try to read all the books on the list. 

The book is Literature and the Child and is actually a good reference guide for children's lit.

After college, life happened and I never thought about it again until 2012 when I was laid off from my job and found myself at home with a lot of time on my hands with two small children.  I decided to actually set the goal to read all the Newbery Medal and Honor books.

Educationally, I have a B.S. in Education and an M.A. in Teaching.  I am considering doing my doctorate in reading but I want to wait a few years before starting that enormous project.

Why Newbery?

The Newbery list appealed to me because it is one of the oldest awards for American children's literature.  I found that as a reader, I tended to stick to my favorite genre (sci fi/fantasy) and as a pre-service teacher, I decided that I needed a way to "expand my horizons." The Newbery list was a way to do that as it covers many different genres including nonfiction.  It is essentially a "cross-section" of literature.

Where Do I Get the Books?

I have been able to order most of the books I have read from my library's consortium.  I also own some books myself.  The 1922 and 1923 books are public domain and can be downloaded legally for free from the Gutenburg Project.  There are several books from the 1920s and 30s that are public domain because their copyrights were not renewed and you can find them in various places online to read legally.  I have also read several off Kindle Unlimited and Oyster.  Oyster has many books I would like to read, however, they do not have a Windows Phone app yet and I found it tedious to read off my laptop so I'm waiting for them to make an app.  Oyster gives you a 14 day trial and Kindle Unlimited does 30 days.

Many of the older books, especially the older honor books, are out of print and extremely hard to find.  Hopefully, many of them will become available digitally as they approach their public domain status. 

What Have I Found So Far?

So far, I have found the books that I have read to be high quality and enjoyable literature, with a few exceptions.  I have been especially impressed with the nonfiction books, considering I don't read a lot of nonfiction independently as I find it dry and boring much of the time.  The older books read a lot differently and it is interesting to see how writing styles and plots have evolved over 90 something years.

About This Blog

Once I have read all the medal and honor books for a year, I write a blog post.  For each book I list: the title, the author, the genre, a brief description, my verdict and my rating off Goodreads.  I then write a brief review of what I thought of the year.  I also post about certain book series and authors of note.

Because I wait until I have read all the books in a year, I do not post very regularly.  If you want a more instant way to follow what I read, I suggest following me on Goodreads.  You can reach my shelf through the Goodreads feed in the sidebar.

Obviously, more Newbery books come out every year, therefore, this blog is an ongoing project as the list grows with each passing year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Newbery 1968

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Author: E. L. Konigsburg
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Claudia and Jame run away from home and decide to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they try to unravel the mystery of a statue believed to be the work of Michaelangelo.
Verdict: It's ok
My rating: 3 stars


Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth
Author: E.L. Konigsburg
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Elizabeth meets Jennifer and becomes a witch in training.
Verdict: Good friend story
My rating: 4 stars


The Black Pearl
Author: Scott O'Dell
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: A pearl diver finds a huge black pearl that is supposedly cursed.
Verdict: A bit disappointing
My rating: 2 stars


The Fearsome Inn
Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer
Genre: Folk Tale
Plot: Three students end up at a cursed inn run by a witch and her half-devil husband.
Verdict: Pretty good
My rating: 3 stars


The Egypt Game
Author: Zilpha Keatey Snyder
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: April moves into an apartment complex and makes friends with several other children who pretend to have adventures in ancient Egypt.
My rating: 2 stars

All four authors from this year have won multiple Newbery awards or honors.  E.L. Konigsburg, who won the medal this year, also won an honor for this year (the first and only time that this has happened that I know of) and, years later, would win the Newbery medal again (in 1997 for The View From Saturday which is an awesome book).  Both of her books are very different.  From the Mixed-up Files is a mystery, with the two main characters trying to get information about a mysterious statue while Jennifer is about friendship. I actually enjoyed Jennifer more.  Some people might be put off by the "witchcraft" in the book, however, I would encourage you to read the book through to the end to find out what is actually going on.

Scott O'Dell is well known for The Island of the Blue Dolphins but I did not find this book nearly as good.  The book seemed to drag on as the characters tried to figure out what to do with their giant black pearl.

I also found that The Egypt Game dragged a bit in the middle as well but I have not read any of Snyder's other books for comparison.

The Fearsome Inn was a different animal entirely.  The author, Isaac Bashevis Singer, translates and writes Yiddish folk tales.  This tale was more of a serious nature and it was a short story rather than a novel.  I was unable to locate a stand alone copy of this, but I was able to get the text out of a collection of Singer's stories Stories for Children.  This collection contains two of his other Newbery honor stories "Zlateh the Goat" and "When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw" which were also very good.